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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Honorable Jack Pope, a retired chief justice of |
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the Texas Supreme Court, is celebrating his 100th birthday on April |
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18, 2013, and this occasion provides an ideal opportunity to |
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recognize his immeasurable service to the Lone Star State; and |
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WHEREAS, At 100, Chief Justice Pope is by all accounts the |
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oldest living former state supreme court chief justice in modern |
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American history and the first to reach the century mark; he served |
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as a judge in trial and appellate courts for 38 years, giving him |
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the longest judicial tenure of any Texas Supreme Court justice; and |
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WHEREAS, During his exemplary service on the Court of Civil |
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Appeals in San Antonio, Chief Justice Pope reshaped Texas water law |
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by defining the Spanish roots of water grants in a seminal opinion |
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subsequently adopted by the Texas Supreme Court as its own, a rarity |
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in the annals of the court; years later, author James A. Michener |
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sought his expertise on the important role of water when |
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researching his acclaimed historical novel Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, This remarkable jurist began his career before the |
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advent of formal judicial training; his quest to educate himself in |
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the field led him to become a powerful advocate for professional |
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education for all Texas judges, a mission now carried on by the |
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Texas Center for the Judiciary; his efforts culminated in the |
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establishment of compulsory continuing judicial education and the |
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adoption of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct by the Supreme Court |
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of Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, Committed to the principle of justice for all |
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Texans, Chief Justice Pope created a means to fund legal assistance |
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for the poor; he devised a system to channel interest earned on |
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attorneys' client-trust accounts for the benefit of legal aid |
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organizations in the state; and |
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WHEREAS, His profound reputation for judicial integrity and |
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principled decision-making prompted his former Supreme Court |
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colleague Thomas M. Reavley to call Chief Justice Pope the greatest |
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jurist with whom he has served; this is high tribute indeed from |
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Judge Reavley, who has worked with judges on all but one of the 11 |
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regional federal circuits in the United States, and who now has |
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senior status on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, A cofounder of the Texas Supreme Court Historical |
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Society, Chief Justice Pope now is its chair emeritus; the |
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organization will soon publish a collection of his writings under a |
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title referencing his proud description of himself as a "common |
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law" judge; this volume will be the first in a new judicial history |
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series; and |
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WHEREAS, Born and reared in Abilene, Chief Justice Pope knew |
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from the time he was a boy that he wanted to be a lawyer; as a youth, |
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he also showed the passion for learning that later marked his |
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distinguished career and that led him to champion judicial |
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education; he was a voracious reader and found inspiration in such |
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figures as the Roman historian Tacitus and orator Cicero and in the |
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American legal scholars Roscoe Pound and Oliver Wendell Holmes, |
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Jr.; and |
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WHEREAS, Jack Pope graduated from Abilene High School in 1930 |
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and went on to attend Abilene Christian College, where he majored in |
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speech, earned letters as a member of the debate and tennis teams, |
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and served as president of the junior class and the student |
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association; subsequently, at The University of Texas School of |
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Law, he served as editor of the Texas Law Review; and |
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WHEREAS, Licensed by the bar in 1937, Chief Justice Pope |
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moved to Corpus Christi and joined the firm of his uncle, former |
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state representative Walter E. Pope; he quickly gained wide-ranging |
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experience in civil and criminal law and in New Deal-era labor and |
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transportation regulatory law; and |
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WHEREAS, He served in the U.S. Navy Reserve for two years at |
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the end of World War II; upon returning to Corpus Christi in 1946, |
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he resumed the practice of law, but later that year, at the age of |
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33, he was appointed judge of the 94th District Court; he was the |
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youngest district judge then serving in Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1950, Chief Justice Pope won the first of three |
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consecutive terms to the Court of Civil Appeals in San Antonio, the |
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first justice who was from south of Bexar County to be elected to |
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that court; he won election to the Supreme Court of Texas in 1964, |
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and during his years as an associate justice, he not only led |
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efforts for judicial and procedural reform, but also helped to |
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draft significant rulings on property rights; in 1982, Governor |
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Bill Clements appointed him chief justice, an office he held until |
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his retirement in 1985; and |
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WHEREAS, Known for the lucidity of his thought and writing, |
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he published more than 1,000 judicial opinions and over 70 |
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law-related articles over the course of his career; and |
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WHEREAS, Since stepping down from the bench some 28 years |
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ago, Chief Justice Pope has continued an active life; he has served |
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as president of the Christian Chronicle National Council, an |
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advisory body created to serve the international newspaper of the |
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Churches of Christ, and coedited a volume about his ancestor John |
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Berry, a notable Texas pioneer; in 2011, he published My Little |
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United Nations, paying fond tribute to the multicultural team of |
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dedicated assistants and caregivers who have nurtured his soul and |
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body; and |
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WHEREAS, Chief Justice Pope credits Abilene Christian |
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University with providing an essential foundation for his success |
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in life, and in return for the invaluable lessons he learned there, |
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he has been one of that school's staunchest supporters; he joined |
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the ACU Board of Trustees in 1954 and for many years served on the |
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senior board; and |
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WHEREAS, In tribute to its esteemed graduate, ACU has |
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conferred on Chief Justice Pope its Outstanding Alumnus of the Year |
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award, as well as its Change the World award; moreover, since 1989, |
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the school has bestowed scholarships on outstanding students who |
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are intending to pursue a career in public service, designating |
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them as Jack Pope Fellows; and |
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WHEREAS, Another institution that has benefited from Chief |
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Justice Pope's active involvement is the State Law Library, which |
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was created as a separate state agency in 1971 largely through his |
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efforts; Chief Justice Pope has served as a member emeritus of the |
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Friends of the State Law Library Board of Directors, and the Friends |
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have recognized him and another former chief justice, the late Joe |
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Greenhill, with the establishment of the Greenhill-Pope Law Book |
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Fund; and |
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WHEREAS, Chief Justice Pope is the recipient of four honorary |
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degrees and countless other accolades; in 2009, the Texas Center |
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for Legal Ethics presented him with its first Chief Justice Jack |
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Pope Professionalism Award, and in 2010 the judicial section of the |
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State Bar of Texas honored him with its inaugural Judicial Lifetime |
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Achievement Award; and |
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WHEREAS, From their marriage in 1938 until her passing in |
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2004, Jack Pope and his wife, Allene, shared a richly rewarding |
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union; their family today includes two sons, Allen and Jackson |
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Pope, two grandsons, Drew and Ryan Pope, and two |
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great-grandchildren, Dylan and Peyton Locke; and |
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WHEREAS, Greatly admired for his intellect and integrity, |
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Chief Justice Pope has contributed significantly to jurisprudence |
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in the State of Texas, and it is indeed a privilege to join in |
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wishing him well on this special day; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby commend the Honorable Jack Pope for his exceptional service |
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to the Lone Star State and congratulate him on the momentous |
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occasion of his 100th birthday; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Chief Justice Pope as an expression of high regard by |
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the Texas House of Representatives and Senate. |